Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exposure apparatuses, movable body apparatuses, flat-panel display manufacturing methods, and device manufacturing methods, and more particularly, to an exposure apparatus used in a lithography process when semiconductor devices, liquid crystal display devices and the like are produced, a movable body apparatus that is suitable as a device which moves holding an object subject to exposure of the exposure apparatus, a flat-panel display manufacturing method which uses the exposure apparatus, and a device manufacturing method which uses the exposure apparatus.
Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, in a lithography process for crystal display devices and semiconductor devices (such as integrated circuits), apparatuses are used such as an exposure apparatus based on a step-and-scan method (a so-called scanning stepper (also referred to as a scanner)) which while synchronously moving a mask or a reticle (hereinafter generally referred to as a “mask”) and a glass plate or a wafer (hereinafter generally referred to as a “substrate”) in a predetermined scanning direction, transfers a pattern formed on a mask onto a substrate using an energy beam.
In this type of exposure apparatus, an apparatus is known that has a stacking type (gantry type) stage device which has a Y coarse movement stage movable in the cross-scan direction (a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction) installed on an X coarse movement stage movable in long strokes in the scanning direction, and as the stage device, for example, a stage device is known that has a configuration in which a weight cancelling device moves along a horizontal surface on a surface plate formed of a stone material (e.g., refer to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950).
However, with the exposure apparatus according to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950 described above, because the weight cancelling device moves within a wide range corresponding to the step-and-scan movement, the degree of flatness of the upper surface (movement guide plane of the weight cancelling device) of the surface plate has to be finished highly in a wide range. However, in recent years, substrates subject to exposure of exposure apparatuses tend to increase in size, and with it, the size of surface plates tend to increase, which may decrease transportability of the exposure apparatus, workability at the time of assembly and the like, in addition to an increase in cost.
However, in the exposure apparatus according to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950 described above, a wide space was necessary in the height direction in order to put actuators and the like to finely drive the XY two-axis stage and the fine movement stage in between the surface plate (stage base) and the fine movement stage. Therefore, the weight cancellation device had to be large (tall), and a large drive force was necessary to drive the weight cancellation device along the horizontal plane.
Conventionally, when driving a large mass substrate stage, a cored linear motor which generates a large drive force (thrust) was employed. In this cored linear motor, a magnetic attractive force (attraction) which is several times the thrust is generated between a magnet unit included in a mover (or a stator) and a coil unit that has a core (an iron core) included in a stator (or a mover). Specifically, a suction force of 10000 to 20000N is generated with respect to a thrust of 4000N.
Accordingly, in the case of a conventional substrate stage device structured in the manner described above, a large weight load (and an inertia force which occurs with the movement of an X coarse movement stage) such as of a substrate, a Y coarse movement stage, the X coarse movement stage and the like acts on a pair of single axis drive units placed between X coarse movement stage and a stage base, as well as a large attraction generated especially from the cored linear motor configuring the pair of single axis drive units described above. Therefore, the single axis drive unit, especially the linear motor and a guide device that configure a part of the single axis drive unit need to have a large load capacity (capacity), and a movable member and a fixed member also have to be configured strongly to be able to stand the attraction from the linear motor.
Meanwhile, because a large frictional resistance acts between a linear guide (rail) and a slider that configure a guide device (a single axis guide), which increases drive resistance, a linear motor which generates a larger drive force will be needed. Further, additional problems such as an increase in size of the substrate stage device, generation of frictional heat in the guide device and generation of Joule's heat in the linear motor, mechanical damage by adsorbates will become evident.